


New Beginnings

by Auggusst



Series: The Soldier And The Scientist [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arguing, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Hospital, Hurt Steve Rogers, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Iron Man 3, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart, starting to develop feelings, tony is steve's emergency contact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-26 21:37:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20396527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auggusst/pseuds/Auggusst
Summary: When Tony Stark hears about the mess in Washington, he's quick to take his place at Steve's side during his hospital recovery, despite the fact that the two of them have spent less than a week together, and they're not the best of friends. But Tony knows, deep down, that he has some type of feelings for Steve. Maybe going was a mistake, maybe it wasn't, but the three days in the hospital changed the direction of his life forever.





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> @avengersnewb on Tumblr gave me the idea for this, after I made a related post on my blog. Here's the link to my blog by the way, if any of you feel like following me. https://stark-charm.tumblr.com/

Tony thought he was dreaming when his phone rang and a certain super-spy was on the other end. The news he received from one Nick Fury, who was now considered a ghost apparently, asking him to come to a hospital in Washington, was unexpected and unbelievable. This all came merely an hour after footage of three Helicarriers crashing into the river surfaced, and a data influx of streamed SHIELD and Hydra documents loaded into JARVIS’ matrix.

Tony barely had time to process what truly happened before the call. All he knew was that Cap was involved, and SHIELD was over. It didn’t take much convincing to go. Tony was listed as Steve’s emergency contact after all, a fact he had nearly forgotten about. It just made sense though. Tony had a variety of resources at his disposal, and could be reached from practically anywhere, and his family did have ties to the Captain America name. They’d never made use of the contact since Steve’s awakening in 2010. But it came in handy now, when the soldier was lying in a hospital room without personnel who knew exactly how to treat him. Tony arrived at the hospital four hours after his call. 

He felt nervous, asking the lady at the front desk for the proper room number. The last time he’d properly spoken to Steve was maybe a week after the battle of New York, when he made the decision to join SHIELD properly and become an agent. Tony had cautioned him to keep his guard up, and wished him the best, despite the disappointment he felt at his decision to leave.

Almost immediately following the battle, Tony had begun to redesign Stark Tower. He figured it would be best for them all to live together, in case another catastrophe arose, but thus far, only Bruce had accepted the offer, and it was only on a part time basis. Tony was disappointed when Steve politely declined. His initial opinion of the soldier had changed. When they met, he thought Steve was insufferable, a self righteous ass. After working together during the battle, he thought maybe he had misjudged him. Steve had been a good ally, had did his best to protect the people, and seemed to be more like the stories from Tony’s youth than he thought. Steve was someone who, although irritating, would maybe be good to keep around.

He could admit that he had a little bit of a crush on the handsome blond, always had, since he was a teen. Distance only made the heart grow fonder, and among his nightmares about the battle, the issues with his relationship with Pepper and their consequent break up, the brunet found himself thinking about Captain America more and more. Things were a lot more complicated now though, in the world, and within his own life, and besides, they didn’t even really have contact with each other, so the brunet locked those…_stirrings_ in a little box deep down in his heart. 

The phone call was either a blessing or a curse, he decided, walking down the linoleum-tiled halls and into a room. He opened it slowly, and stood in silence, taking in the sight with his heart in his throat. 

Steve looked terrible. Like, truly terrible. There were bruises all over, and his cheek had been split, and there were a few stitches at the corner of his lip, and he could see gauze wrapping down an arm and beneath his gown, he assumed. Fury had left out the details, maybe because he didn’t know them all, or out of respect, but Tony wished the warning had been better. 

There was a man sitting in the guest chair, who was unfamiliar. But friends were found in low places, and judging by his black eye, Steve had found a new ally. The blond was asleep at the moment, but the man at his side looked up from his phone. Tony felt a little nervous as he met his gaze, but shoved it down, straightened his leather jacket. 

“Hi there. I’m uh, Tony.” 

“Tony Stark. Yeah I can tell. Sam Wilson,” the stranger replied, standing from his seat. 

The distance was too great to shake hands, and the brunet couldn’t seem to get his feet to move forward. His gaze focused on Steve once more. “Is he…?” 

“He’s okay for now. Fury sent you, right?” 

“Among others. The hospital called me up not long after.” 

“You’re his emergency contact?” Sam asked, raising a brow. He didn’t seem star struck at all, which was a blessing, because Tony wasn’t sure he could handle that right now. Sam seemed capable, friendly, trust worthy. No wonder Steve had turned to him when disaster struck. 

“Yeah. Long story,” Tony shrugged. He finally got his feet to work, and stepped forward, hand outstretched. “I suppose you have something to do with all that scrap metal across town?”

Wilson scoffed, and shook his hand firmly. “Yeah. Long story,” he offered, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “You uh… you better let Cap tell you himself.” 

“Right. When he wakes up,” the scientist replied. He hoped Steve would wake up. He looked around the room, took in its white walls and sterile scent. A hand crossed his chest, rubbed his scars absentmindedly. They were still a little tender from surgery, and he hated them, but it was for the best. Depending on the reactor made him too vulnerable, made it easy to hurt him. He was glad to be rid of that off-button. Still, the hospital room made him a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t too long ago that he was in a similar room, getting a handful of shrapnel pulled out of his heart.

“He’ll wake up,” Sam replied confidently, as if he could sense the brunet’s trepidation. “He’s resting. He was already awake earlier.” 

His words soothed Tony, and tension he didn’t realize he was holding dropped out of his shoulders. “Thanks, Sam. You let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” The brunet replied, offered a smile. 

“Will do. I’m gonna get some rest. I’ll be back tomorrow, around noon. Are you sticking around here?” 

It was a loaded question, in a way. On the one hand, it was ridiculous to sit here for a few days. Steve was in safe hands, in a hospital and being taken care of. Any immediate threat was quite obviously gone. However, things were on shaky ground now. He couldn’t believe Fury had chosen to fake his death. He couldn’t believe that SHIELD had turned out to be Hydra. He didn’t hear from Natasha yet either, and the more conflicting news reports and files that came out, the more nervous he got. He had built things for them, had helped design part of the Helicarriers that were now underwater. He was concerned what other dangers he might have brought about. 

He could go home, but would everything be okay? Would Steve be alright? He was undoubtedly a target now. Only a fool would believe that Hydra was truly gone, and Tony Stark wasn’t a fool. Maybe something would happen if he wasn’t there at Steve’ side. He was Steve’s emergency contact. He would feel guilty if something happened in his absence, would feel more horrified at all of this than he already did. 

Tony nodded after a second or two, having made up his mind. “Yeah, I’ll be here.” If he was tired, he could always get a room at the hotel across the street. (Or end up sleeping right there.) 

Sam seemed to accept that, and gave him a nod. “Keep an eye on him. Call me if you need back up,” he replied. He took a little card out of his pocket, on which his contact information was printed. Tony raised a brow as he read the details. Huh. Sam worked at the VA, apparently. No wonder Steve had befriended him. He imagined it was easier for the soldier to connect with other soldiers. Shared life experience, and all that. 

A part of him wished the blond had connected with him like that, but apparently it was out of the question. Tony squashed down his ill-founded jealousy and said goodbye to Sam. Once he left, the brunet turned his attention to Steve. 

It was quiet in the room. Far too quiet. Tony sat in the chair next to the bed, took in Steve’s appearance. It had been far too long since he saw him properly. He looked exhausted. His skin was paler than the brunet remembered, no doubt because of his injuries. His hands rested lightly on either side of his body, and looking down at them, Tony could see the broken skin of his knuckles. The state of his face was much worse. Those golden lashes were framed by bruises, some already fading into a dull yellow, and others still strong and dark. The split skin on his cheekbone made Tony’s lips tug into a frown. He fought the urge to run a hand over the skin, as if his touch could somehow smooth away the soldier’s injuries. He couldn’t imagine what the man had been through in the last few days. 

Tony sighed tiredly. What the hell happened, and what was going to happen now? 

The longer he studied Steve, the more distraught he got. After a while, he got the urge to cry. It surprised him. He didn’t think he cared that much. After all, Steve was practically a stranger. He’d been out of Tony’s life for almost a year. That fact made him bitter. Here he was at the soldier’s bedside, concerned about his well being, but where was Steve a few months ago, when Tony was presumed dead and dealing with a home grown terrorist? He hadn’t even received a call afterwards, not one, from anyone on the team. It was a little unfair, he thought, that he should be here now, when no one was there for him. But he pushed those negative feelings away. It wasn’t fair to be bitter. It wouldn’t get him anywhere anyway.

Still, he wished he knew Steve better. He wished he could’ve had someone to depend on, back then. He wished things were as he suggested them to be. If everyone was living in the tower, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe he would still have his house. Maybe certain people would still be alive. Maybe he would feel better about himself.

Maybe he and Pepper would still be together. 

Tony sighed once more, rubbed his stinging eyes in disgust. Crying would do him no good now. It was his fault they had split, his obsession and self-destructive tendencies that had done them in. He was sure one day they would be good friends again, or at least hoped so, but for now…well, their calls were strictly business. And now he was sitting with another individual who he, whether he liked it or not, had some type of feelings for, and he knew they would never be returned. Tony hesitated to even give them voice.

He took another look at Steve, and rested his head in the palm of his hand. “You’re a pain in the ass, Rogers,” he muttered. 

“I’ve been told,” a weak voice replied. 

Tony’s eyes snapped up in surprise, and he felt heat rising on his cheeks. He hadn’t meant for the soldier to hear that. 

Steve’s eyes opened slowly and focused on his face.

“Hi,” the brunet said breathlessly.

“Hi,” Steve agreed.

There was a long pause, where they just looked at each other. Tony wasn’t sure what to say, and Steve inspected him with scrutiny, or maybe the scientist just imagined it. He could hardly breathe with the way the blond stared at him, and finally worked up the courage to break the silence.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Steve shrugged to the best of his ability. “Alive, I suppose,” he replied, face grim. Not that he wasn’t always wearing a serious face when they were in the same room, but this one felt different. It felt sad, felt exhausted. His eyes were dark, distant. Tony recognized that look, had seen it in himself more times than he could count.

“What happened?” he asked softly.

Steve swallowed hard, dropped his gaze. “You mind giving me some water?” he asked.

It was a deflection, but Tony wouldn’t call it out. “Yeah,” he replied, reaching for the pitcher and empty glass on the nightstand.

He poured water into the glass as Steve raised the bed into a sitting position. He handed the soldier the glass, and he drank long and deep, sighed when he finished and Tony took the glass from his hands.

Silence once more.

“You uh, gonna tell me what’s going on now? Or are we gonna keep sitting here awkwardly?” Tony asked, leaning back and crossing his arms.

The soldier frowned briefly, and turned his gaze to the ceiling. “It’s a long story,” he replied. Wasn’t everything these days? The world didn’t exactly make sense anymore. Tony still had trouble coming to terms with it. He’d moved into the tower three months ago, and whenever he walked through the penthouse it still put him on edge, remembering all that had happened. His life ever since wasn’t much better.

“I’ve got time,” the brunet said. Maybe it would do Steve good to lay it all out. Tony sure wished he had someone to talk last Christmas over with. Bruce tried, but in all honesty, he was terrible at consoling people.

It was indeed, a long story, and the blond took a long time to tell it. Steve started with Fury’s accident and his appearance at his apartment, filling in some of the details leading up to it and his suspicions about SHIELD. He explained the revelation that SHIELD was infiltrated by Hydra from its inception, explained Zola’s algorithm and the danger of the Helicarriers. He had to stop a few times to rest his voice, and somewhere in between the nurse came in. Tony wished she hadn’t, because from the blond’s face there was plenty more to the story, but she needed to check on him. She was young, amicable, and maybe a little nervous as she regarded the two of them, stood at the door for a few moments before moving in.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Rogers?” she asked, standing at the foot of the bed, clipboard in hand.

“Fine,” Steve replied, though Tony took one look at him and scoffed.

“Don’t listen to him. He feels awful,” he interjected.

“How can you tell?” the blond asked incredulously. He squinted his eyes at Tony, annoyed that he had spoken the truth.

“Please. Your jaw’s been tightened the last half hour, and your fingers keep twitching like you’re ready to scratch yourself apart. I am a genius, in case you forgot. I do pick up on things.”

“But that doesn’t mean—“

Tony ignored him. He addressed the young nurse once more. “What have you got him on, morphine?”

“Yes. The drip was set up after his initial exam and treatment.”

“Up the dosage. Mr. Rogers’ super soldier serum here burns things out of his system faster than the average blondie. You’re going to have to sustain a higher intake amount if we want him to stop hurting.”

“We didn’t have any records available to go on. Thus far his healthcare has been handled privately, by the government,” she replied, glancing over her clipboard. She bit her lip.

“By SHIELD,” Tony agreed with a nod. His tone softened a little, and sympathy rolled through him. He couldn’t imagine the struggle they dealt with to get Steve set up in the first place, and if he was feigning comfort, that only made it worse. He’d make sure their work would be easy from now on. “I’ll get you a chart.”

“_You_ have a chart?” Steve asked, brows tugged down. Maybe he didn’t take well to being spoken for. Maybe he felt threatened, knowing that someone outside of his little crew knew his information. Tony didn’t care at the moment. He wouldn’t let the soldier’s pride get in the way of his recovery. Tony had punished himself plenty of times in the past, had forgone proper care because he felt he didn’t deserve it. Hell, he’d almost killed himself quicker than the Palladium poisoning could a few years back. Although the root of the issue hadn’t been reached yet, and Tony figured it would be when Steve finished his story, the brunet figured an enormous amount of guilt was eating at the blond, and he was likely to make the same mistakes Tony did. Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

As far as the question? Well. “Of course I have a chart. I’m your emergency contact, in case you forgot,” Tony replied with a roll of his eyes. Honestly. Did Steve think he was just here to hang out? For a second Tony wondered if he’d ever been told. He assumed they laid the news on him when he got out of the ice, but maybe they neglected to do so. Alternatively, maybe Steve knew, and even back then had no intention of reaching out, of trying to become friends, and that concept hurt worse. Tony tried to put it out of mind.

“I figured that’s why you’re here,” Steve bit back, irritation seeping into his tone. He grew surprisingly defensive quickly. Maybe it was the pain, or maybe they still grinded each other’s gears like that first day on the Helicarrier. “It’s just…surprising,” he said.

Surprising because they had barely spent more than 72 hours in the same room, Tony figured.

“Despite what you read in my file, I am responsible,” the brunet snapped, remembering a specific handful of comments in the past. He’d never quite forgotten them, and how they stung worse than the thousands of tabloids or social media posts and articles throughout the years. He tried to push them away now, and instead pulled out his Starkphone.

A few taps on the little device while blue eyes bored into his skull, and the scientist stuck the phone back in his jacket pocket. “Done. Should be arriving via fax down the hall— I know public places still use those shitty machines— and I’ve inserted it in his digital patient file,” he announced, nodding to the nurse.

She smiled gratefully, looked down at her clipboard. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tony replied, suddenly feeling a little awkward, settling back in the guest chair. Maybe it was the casual way she addressed him, how she didn’t question his presence, as if he and Steve had known each other a lifetime, like they weren’t just two strangers that happened to save the world together. Sometimes Tony wished they weren’t.

Tony didn’t have time to dwell on it. Her voice interrupted his thoughts. “Now Captain, I just want to check over you and make sure you’re comfortable, and get the proper dosage set up. I’ll be back in a minute, just going to check over your information,” the nurse said, turning her attention to Steve.

The blond offered a tiny smile and nodded. The exhaustion was clear on his face, but the nurse didn’t seem to mind. “Yes ma’am,” he replied. Tony thought he couldn’t look more miserable if he tried.

“In the mean time, can I get you anything? Some jello or crackers? We serve dinner at 6,” she added, walking towards the door.

Steve thought for a second, fought the urge to rub his aching cheek. He _was_ feeling hungry. Maybe he could try to eat. “Both, please,” he replied after a moment.

The young nurse offered another smile, and left the room.

Tony stared at the ugly floor tiles for a moment to avoid conversation. He wasn’t sure what to say, and he didn’t particularly want to look at Steve. There was a huge scuff mark on a particular tile about a foot away from him that captured his attention, until he could feel Steve’s gaze on him, intense and overwhelming. Despite his better judgment, he looked up, met his eyes.

“What?” the brunet asked.

“Thank you,” the blond replied curtly.

“For what?”

“You know. For the chart. And for coming,” Steve said. His eyes turned down, settled on the same scuff mark, not wanting to make eye contact. When Tony glanced over at the soldier, he could see a little pink flowing into the paleness of his cheeks, and it made his chest clench in a way he wasn’t sure he recognized. He cleared his throat.

“No problem. It’s fine.”

“I’m serious,” Steve replied. “It’s uh… I’m glad there’s _someone_ to trust,” he said with a sigh, resting his head back against the pillows.

Okay, that made Tony feel a lot warmer than he thought it would. “You trust me?” he found himself asking.

“Am I wrong to?” the blond asked, brows tugged downward.

Tony shook his head a little faster than he intended, eager to get his point across. “No. You’re uh… Yeah. I’m good. I’m not in Hydra, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He chuckled weakly, and it was the most pathetic laugh he’d ever given.

Steve, for his part, at least felt the sincerity, and offered a little smile. “Good,” he replied.

“Actually, speaking of, I’ve got some ideas moving forward.”

Tony’s ideas had to wait, though. The nurse returned, and she adjusted the morphine drip, as well as checked over Steve’s wounds. The stab wound on his arm had to be redressed, and the brunet found himself appreciating the blond’s muscles more than he wanted to, but could he be blamed? Steve was hot. That wasn’t a secret. So Tony sat and twiddled his proverbial thumbs while the soldier was cared for by the medical staff.

He felt a sense of relief when they left, and he was alone with Steve again. There was still a lot to talk about, and it was sort of eating at him. The staff had left a plate of crackers and a bowl of jello on the dining tray above the soldier’s bed, and Steve was thankful for it. He tried making use of it.

Tony watched the soldier’s tired hands try to shovel a spoonful of jello in his mouth, and very nearly make it, but the little glob of green dropped off the side of the utensil and onto the front of his gown. The soldier frowned intensely, and tried again. He was a little more successful the second time, but it was clear it took a lot out of him. It was interesting, seeing Captain America, the man the myth the legend, struggle to eat his food, but it wasn’t a good kind of interesting. It stirred sympathy in Tony. He hated being weak, hated how often he depended on other people. He couldn’t imagine that Steve was any more comfortable with it. There was no way the soldier would ask for help; that much was clear. And Tony was too proud to offer it himself vocally, but…

The scientist watched him struggle a few more seconds before it became unbearable, and he scooted his chair closer to the bed. He pulled the spoon from Steve’s hands. “Give me that,” he sighed, averting his gaze so he didn’t have to see the soldier’s reaction.

Steve only sighed in defeat. Tony willed his hands not to shake as he brought a spoonful of jello up to the blond’s mouth. Steve eyed him for a moment, and begrudgingly submitted, accepting the offering. Tony fed him the first few spoonfuls in silence, and when he snuck a glance at Steve’s eyes through his lashes, he noticed the sadness in them, the fear. It was sort of scary, made concern surge through him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly, arm half raised.

Steve looked down. He sighed, knit his brows. Tony could see him struggling between staying quiet or admitting the problem. After a moment or two, he spoke. “You were one of the Insight targets,” he began, volume low. “And I just… I can’t help thinking about what would’ve happened, if I was too late. All of those people, you included, just gone. Gone in a second because I was too slow.”

Tony exhaled softly at that, understood the feeling all too well. He dropped the spoon back into the bowl. “You weren’t too slow though. You did good, Rogers. And thank your lucky stars you did, or else there’d be no one here to feed you jello.” His attempt at humor fell flat though. The blond’s blue eyes only darkened, filled with grief.

“Is there more?” Tony asked. Of course there was more. There was always more. It occurred to Tony suddenly that he had no idea about Steve’s past. Sure he had heard plenty of stories from his father, had seen some propaganda footage, but the actual experiences of the soldier were a mystery. He wondered suddenly if there were things in his past that haunted him, the way Tony’s past did.

“Hydra….they…” The blond took a deep breath, and if Tony didn’t know any better, he would assume it was to keep from crying. “There was an assassin. They called him The Winter Soldier…”

The brunet looked at him with sympathy. He was obviously quite shaken. It didn’t take much to fill in the gaps. “You knew him?” Tony asked.

“Bucky,” Steve replied softly. “It was Bucky.”

“Bucky _Barnes_?” the scientist asked, disbelief clear in his tone. That was absurd, wasn’t it? Barnes died during the war. How could he have been an assassin, working for Hydra no less? Maybe Steve was imagining things. Maybe he was in shock or something.

The blond confirmed the revelation though. “It was him. He survived his fall. They kidnapped him—experimented on him…”

“Jesus,” Tony replied with an exhale. That was a lot to take in. He couldn’t imagine how the blond felt. His best friend turned into a weapon, being used, for years, without Steve’s knowledge? It had to be eating away at him. No wonder he looked so miserable. “Is he…?”

“He disappeared. I don’t know if he was hurt or not.”

“Christ, Rogers. I’m sorry,” Tony replied.

“Yeah,” the blond said with a nod. It was barely a whisper.

Tony didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t exactly known for his emotional prowess, or his ability to comfort others. He wished he had the right words to make it better. But he didn’t. Maybe Tony was feeling extra brave today, or maybe it was because he actually wanted to, but he reached out hesitantly, and clasped his hand over the blond’s. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Steve looked down at it, and then up at him, eyes liquid with emotion. It was almost overwhelming. Tony found his gaze magnetizing, more so than he had ever, and it was sort of scary. He wasn’t happy with the way his heart beat erratically at their contact.

There wasn’t much more to say on the subject, so he figured he would change the topic before another hard silence fell over them.

“You should finish your jello and take a nap,” the brunet offered. He slipped his hand away from Steve’s, missing the warmth already, and lifted the spoon once more.

Steve gave no quarrel.

A few hours later Tony found himself sipping the _worst_ cup of coffee he’d ever had, and staring into the mirror in the bathroom adjacent to Steve’s room. He’d put in two creamers and four sugars and the flavor barely improved. What they hell were they brewing here? It was awful, could barely be considered coffee in his eyes. The brunet made a mental note to purchase his own grounds for future use.

Wait a minute—future use? How long did he plan on staying here? It had already been the better part of a day, and in fact was around 8pm. Honestly, he should’ve just left. Thus far no danger had come for Steve, and he seemed to be slowly improving. Tony didn’t need to be there. He was sure things would be fine. Despite all of that, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He’d been alone for the better part of two months, and having some company, even grumpy, mopey super soldier company, was better than nothing. Besides, maybe staying at Steve’s side would alleviate some of the second hand guilt. He also knew there was a deeper reason he wanted to stay, but that was not something he wanted to consider right now.

He sort of regretted staying the next morning, after sleeping in the guest chair. His neck was stiff and his shoulder blades ached, which wasn’t necessarily out of the ordinary, but was less than pleasurable. Steve was already awake, and apparently the nurse had already been in and brought him breakfast. The soldier was shuffling around a spoonful of oatmeal while eyeing the accompanying cup of fruit. They’d also given him a tall glass of orange juice, and two slices of toast with those little pre-packaged jam cups.

Tony rubbed at his tired eyes and stretched, his spine cracking. He sunk back into his chair with a sigh, and muttered a “Good morning,” to the blond, who offered a similarly miserable greeting.

There was silence between them as Tony checked his phone. There were about a thousand new articles, and JARVIS had acquired even more encrypted files. The most noteworthy development was the fact that Black Widow was being called to court. “So that’s why we haven’t heard from her,” he mused, projecting the article so the blond could see it as well. They read it over together, processed the details. It worked Steve up a lot more than Tony anticipated.

“That’s such bullshit!” he growled, frowning into his bowl.

Tony blinked at that. He laughed a little.

“What?” Steve grumbled in reply.

“I’ve never heard you say ‘bullshit’ before. My my, the mouth on you,” the scientist joked, grinning. He scrolled through the article, stopped on a photo of Natasha taken that morning.

“Oh, her hair’s different,” he said. He could feel Steve rolling his eyes at his side, but Tony hadn’t seen Romanov just as long as he hadn’t seen Steve. It was interesting to note the changes, and also kind of sad. He had missed all of it.

“She does that a lot,” Steve stated, picking at his food again. He spoke as if it were obvious. It grinded Tony’s gears.

“Oh sorry for not being familiar with all of her habits. I only saw the woman a year ago. You too,” the brunet grumbled in reply, stowing away his phone. He frowned a little. “And yet I’m here, locking up my back on this uncomfortable chair and drinking coffee so bad it’s basically sludge.”

“I didn’t ask you to come here,” the blond snapped back. His face bore the same irritation as the day they met, and Tony loathed it.

The brunet grit his teeth, felt heat bubbling up in his chest. “No but I fucking came anyway!” he shouted.

“Why did you bother?! You could’ve sent that chart from your ivory tower if you wanted!” Steve yelled right back.

Tony stared at him in disbelief and anger. _Wow_. Did Steve really think so little of him, that he wouldn’t voluntarily come out here? Did he still see Tony as the selfish egomaniac his SHIELD file made him out to be? It really hurt, a lot more than he anticipated, and suddenly Tony felt stupid. They would never be a proper team. No wonder no one had come to help, or to even check on him after Christmas. They probably all hated him. His chest felt tight with emotion, and his eyes stung.

“You know what? Fuck you, Rogers! I came because we’re supposed to be a team, and I wanted to have your back! But I can see you clearly don’t want that, none of you do! You want me to leave? Fine. You’ve got your wish,” the brunet replied, jumping out of his seat. He snatched his jacket off the back of his chair and stalked to the door.

“Stark, wait!” the blond shouted after him.

Tony stopped, his hand clenched around the door knob. “Why?! Why should I sit here another second?” he demanded, whipping around to look at the soldier.

“Because I want you here,” Steve replied, to his surprise. His cheeks were flushed, and his hands gripped his sheets tightly.

Tony stared incredulously, felt his heartbeat in his throat.

“You…I’m just…” Steve sighed. “I want all of you. Here. It’s… the only way to keep you safe.” His voice dropped low, like he was ashamed of the words. He waited with baited breath for Tony’s reaction, looked down at his hands.

Tony swallowed hard, replayed the words in his head. Steve was actually concerned about him? About all of them? He wanted them, wanted him, close by? It made him feel some type of way. Maybe he would be willing to listen now, to stick together, like he wanted to in the first place. Tony felt relieved in a way he couldn’t place, and actually managed the smallest of smiles.

“Nobody can keep me safe, Cap. I’m a big ol’ mess. But maybe we can watch each other’s backs. You know what I’m talking about.”

Steve thought for a moment, looked up at Tony. It suddenly clicked, what he meant, and it must have shown on his face, because the brunet gave him a nod.

“The Tower?” the soldier asked, tilting his head.

“I offered it to you once, and you didn’t want it. Maybe you’ll change your mind now?” the scientist replied, tone hopeful. He found himself taking a step closer, away from the door. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe Steve didn’t mean it that way, maybe it was just the guilt talking. But god, did Tony hope it was something more.

The soldier watched him for a moment, face serious. Those blue eyes searched his face, and before Tony knew it, he was standing directly at the foot of the bed, pulled closer by his gaze, by anticipation of his answer. Tony almost held his breath, and Steve finally answered.

“I’d like that,” he replied. "I…I can’t come immediately. There’s some things I have to do, but I’d like to move in. We need to stick together now,” Steve said, nodding firmly. “Plus, I’m sure my apartment’s toast, now that SHIELD is gone.”

The scientist laughed a little, partly in relief, and came to the side of the bed and put his jacket back on his chair. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.”

“Good,” the blond replied, face turning a little fonder than Tony expected as the soldier watched him settle back in his chair. “I’m glad.”

They were both glad.

That gladness was intensified the day Tony finally had the pleasure of introducing Steve to his floor of the tower, and when he, and the others, finally convinced by Steve’s words, all gathered together in the penthouse and shared lunch. Things were still dangerous, maybe more so than ever, but they were together.

There was someone to keep Tony company now, to keep his mind off of the bad things, and he and Steve had a chance to start over. They would undoubtedly still butt heads, and wouldn’t always see eye to eye. That was to be expected. He hoped they could form a friendship though. After three days together in the hospital, shaking his hand a month later as he welcomed Steve into the tower gave Tony satisfaction he hadn’t anticipated. This was a new beginning, he could feel it.

He hoped the future would bring good things, for both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment with your thoughts! It was interesting writing something at the very beginning for them. It's so fun jumping around to different points in their relationship. Thanks for reading.


End file.
